A New Beginning
by taydaisy48
Summary: A few years after Zack's death, Aram is struggling to accept her past. She only has one friend who completely understands what she is going through. Cloud needs help to accept it wasen't his fault. Can the two of them help heal each other? CloudOC
1. Years Later

**Well, guys, this is it. My first story. :3**

**You'll understand it better if you read my one shot, "You're a hero", since this story is based a few years after that.**

**Well, this is just the prologue, sort of. Which is why it is in 3rd person. The rest of my story will be in Aram's POV, unless it is stated otherwise.**

**Well, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer : I do not own Final Fantasy. But I do own my character, Aram. **

The nightmares were back. Each one seemed to be more horrifying.

_Aram was alone, a sword in her hands. She stood her ground, not ready to fall quite yet. Sweat and blood dripped down her body, signalling that this has been going on for a while._

_She was waiting for her enemy. She was ready to kill, and end all of this madness._

_A shadow shot out at her, causing her to jump slightly. When it got close to her, she closed her eyes and swung her sword down._

_The distinct smell of blood hit her hard, and she heard something fall to the ground with a thud. She was proud of herself. She had killed her enemy._

_She opened her eyes, and was ready to look down at the dying form of her enemy. But she wasen't prepared for the sight in front of her._

_The man looked up at her, and chocked on his words._

_"Why?" He asked, staring up at her. Slowly, he closed his eyes, and his breathing stopped._

_Aram dropped the sword, and let out a scream. _

_He was dead. Zack. He was dead. And it was her fault._

"ARAM!" She jumped up in her bed at the sound of her name. She was gasping for air, trying to breathe. She felt something wet on her face, and touched her cheek softly.

Tears. She had been crying.

She heard a sigh come from her left, and she turned her head quickly to see who was there.

Tifa shook her head, whispering something to herself. She finally let her eyes settle on Aram, and sighed again.

"It's been a few years, Aram. And yet, you still do this every now and again." She spoke, staring at the girl. Aram didn't reply, and wrapped her arms around her legs.

It was true. It had been at least 3 years since everything had ended for her. And yet, she wasen't over it yet. Thankfully, she had her friends now. But it still wasen't the same without him.

She gulped, trying to get rid of the knot in her throat.

Tifa stood up, and walked over to the door. She turned a bit to look at her, and smiled.

"Why don't you come down? Cloud should be back soon, I think." Aram perked up at the mention of her blonde, spikey haired friend.

In a way, Aram depended on the boy sometimes to keep her alive. Although he was suffering, as well, she needed him. And she knew that he needed her.

"I'm gonna come down in a minute. Just let me change." Aram spoke, her voice cutting the silence. She threw the covers off of her bed, and stood up up. She walked over to her dresser, and quickly changed into her usual outfit. It was almost identical to the one that Tifa wore, except Aram had a bit of purple on her shirt.

Once she was done changing, she walked to look at herself in the mirror.

Her once long brown hair now touched a few inches below her shoulders. It was now layered, and was pretty straight. Her dark green eyes shined, almost competing with an emerald. Her figure was skinny, and a bit curvy. She had fair skin, and was about 5'5". She stared at herself for a moment, and turned away.

She quickly made her way down the stairs, and noticed that a few of the AVALANCHE members were sitting around the bar. She raised an eyebrow, and made her way down to the bar.

Aram heard the door open, and turned to see who was coming in.

Cloud was walking into the bar, a blank expression on his face. As soon as she saw him, Aram had a smile on her face. She was always relieved to see him walk through that door.

"Hey Aram." He spoke to her softly, standing next to her.

She looked up at him, and took in what she was looking at. He had grown up since the incident. His features were more defined, and his hair even seemed to be a bit spikier.

She gave him a smile, and noticed that everyone in the bar had begun to talk amongst themselves.

For a moment, Aram had forgotten all about her nightmare. This was her new life now. If it wasen't for the very people in this room, she wouldn't be here right now. She would fight besides them, no matter what.

It's what Zack would have wanted.


	2. You Promised

**Alright guys, this is where the real story begins. The first one was kind of the prologue, giving you an idea when this is and what's going on. But this is it. The real story. **

**I really hope you like it, guys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. I do own Aram though. :3**

* * *

ARAM'S POV

I kicked the dirt that was under my shoes, beginning to feel restless. Cloud had been gone for a while now, and it was starting to bother me. What gave him the right to just leave me right now?

I scoffed, and walked to the door of the bar. Tifa looked at me, and opened her mouth to speak. But before she could say anything, the phone began to ring. I froze, listening to it echo.

"He's not here anymore." I whispered, looking down at the ground.

"Aram." Tifa spoke softly, but it was too late. I had slammed the door open, and was out of the bar in a second.

As soon as I stepped out into the air, the wind hit me slightly. Not that it bothered me any. I continued to walk along the road, letting my feet take me wherever they may. I was beyond mad right now. How could he just disappear like that on me? Especially after that day when...

The memory replayed in my head, as if it was just like a movie.

* * *

_It had been 2 months since Zack had died. Died right in front of me. _

_I stood in front of the small church, tempted to walk in there. But I couldn't bring myself to go in there. I just stared at it, and felt the tears build up in my eyes. _

_The church had been his favorite place to go sometimes. Their friend, Aerith, was often there. But not today. Today she was staying home with her mom. Which was why I was now here._

_I had to run away from everyone back at home. I couldn't stand to be near them right now. They just reminded me of how everything once was. In fact, I just couldn't stand life now._

_So I turned around on my heel, and ran. I ran until I felt my body grow tired. Which, actually, took a while. So once I stopped running, I noticed that I was near some sort of lake._

_The rain began to pour. Without a second thought, I stepped towards the lake. I didn't stop until the water reached above my waist. I knew that the next step, there would be nothing to keep me up._

_At that moment, I was ready to take the step. Ready to end my entire life at that moment._

_And maybe, I'll be with Zack again. _

_I closed my eyes, and pushed myself under the water. But before I could get too far, I felt something grab me and pull me out. I struggled against the force._

_"JUST LET ME GO!" I yelled, hot tears streaming down my face. I felt that thing start pulling me out, despite my protests. Why couldn't life just let me go for once?_

_"JUST LET ME GO!" "WILL YOU STOP BEING SELFISH?" I froze at the sudden outburst. I knew that voice all too well. But it couldn't be him, could it?_

_I felt myself be spun around, and was met by the sight of my spikey haired friend. I looked up, and met his mako blue eyes. I was shocked to see tears rimming his eyes. _

_"Cloud?" I spoke softly. I suddenly felt my head against his chest, and my eyes widened. He was hugging me? Weird, Cloud was never a huggy kind of person. _

_But then I felt him shaking slightly. "You can't leave like that, Aram. If you do, I-I'll be alone." He spoke quickly, sobbing slightly. I was speechless. What could I say to that? So I just wrapped my arms around his back._

_"You're right. We have each other. And I promise I won't leave." I whispered, holding onto Cloud tightly. We stayed like that for a few minutes, crying together._

_We missed Zack terribly. And for a while, I figured I would be all alone. But I knew now that Cloud would always be there. _

_And when he smiled down at me, I knew that I had been completely correct. "And I'll never leave you, as well. Just like I promised Zack."_

_

* * *

_

The memory brought tears back to my eyes. I had believed him. And for years, I was right. But now, he was gone. He had _left _me. I thought for a moment, and decided to go somewhere to be alone. I needed someone right now, and I knew who I needed.

After a few minutes of running, I had made it to my destination. I walked up the hill, bracing myself for what I would see.

I stood in front of the big sword, and felt the tears come. I touched it, and closed my eyes.

"Zack, why did you have to leave so soon? If you were here, then I wouldn't feel so alone. I...I miss you." I said, letting the tears roll down my cheeks.

"Oh Aram, you worry too much. He'll be back." A voice said to me. My eyes widened, and I looked up.

"Z-Zack?" I yelled, looking around quickly. To my dismay, he was nowhere to be found. I stood there, staring up at the sky. I knew I heard his voice, but how?

"What are you doing here?" Another voice spoke. I jumped slightly, and turned around to face the speaker. I glared at Cloud.

"What am I doing here? The question is, where the hell have you been?" I yelled, stomping my feet.

He only looked away, saying nothing. This only made me angrier. I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

"Where's mother?" I looked around, only to see 3 silver haired men on some bikes. I cocked my head to the side, and looked back at Cloud. He looked pretty mad.

"Uh, Cloud, who are these-" "COME ON!" Cloud interrupted me. He grabbed my wrist, and began to drag me behind him.

I didn't know what was going on, and for a moment, I thought about fighting back. That is, until I heard the roar of motorcycles behind me.

Cloud jumped onto his bike, and I quickly jumped on behind him. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and held on as he spun his bike out.

It seemed like a simple chase, that is, until some weird monsters came out of the ground. My eyes widened at the sight of them running next to the bike.

"Cloud!" I yelled when I saw one of them jump at us.

Cloud hit the monster with his sword quickly, pushing it away from us. After the initial thought of being attacked left my mind, I decided to help.

I quickly grabbed the gun that was strapped to my hip, and turned around.

I fired two shots quickly at the nearby monster, causing it to fall. For a minute, I was proud of myself. That is, until two of those guys showed up behind us.

"Big brother, where is mother?" The one with short hair asked, trying to attack us. Cloud simply pushed him away with his sword.

I turned around to shoot again, but felt something burn on my arm. I screamed, and was tempted to grab my burning arm. But I knew better than that.

Then suddenly, the fighting stopped. The two silver haired men swung their bikes around, facing the opposite way of us.

Cloud also stopped his bike, and he looked back to see what was going on. When I looked, I realized there was actually 3 silver haired men. They all seemed to talk before the other 2 took off towards the opposite direction.

Cloud decided that it was a good idea to get out of here, so he hit the gas, and we sprung away from the scene.


	3. I Just Care

**And here comes chapter three! **

**DISCLAIMER : I do not own Final Fantasy. But I do own Aram. :3**

* * *

Aram's POV.

Cloud and I were finally at some sort of open field. I had guessed that those men from earlier would not be following us now.

I slowly slid off of the bike, and landed gracefully on my feet. My mind was racing through so many thoughts right now. But mainly, it was thinking, what the hell was going on?

"Don't worry about it." Cloud answered my thoughts, walking away from me. I turned my head around quickly, letting my light brown hair whip around. I glared at his back.

"Don't worry about it? You just randomly disappeared, Cloud!" I yelled at him. I lifted my arm up to move my hair out of my face, but froze. A sharp pain went through my arm, and I fell to the ground with a yelp. I gripped the spot where my arm was hurting. I pulled my hand away quickly when I felt something wet, and my eyes widened at the sight.

Blood was on my hand. Quite a bit of it, actually. I had been shot by those men while we were driving away.

"Dammit." I cursed, squeezing my hand shut. I stood up straight, and looked at Cloud again. He stood completely still.

"You got hurt, didn't you?" I heard him ask. He sounded annoyed with something.

I sighed. "I remember now. One of them shot me while I was trying to shoot them." I answered him, trying to stay calm. But inside, I was freaking out. There was blood everywhere in my nightmares. It practically haunted me now. Ever since I had seen it all over Zack.

I gasped when Cloud suddenly grabbed my arm. I looked up at him, my eyes widening. I didn't even see him move towards me.

"This is why I left. I can't see you get hurt because of me." He spoke harshly. I only stared up at him in disbelief. I felt tears building up in my eyes as I kept staring.

I snatched my arm away from him, and ignored the pain that shot through it. I glared at him, and shook my head.

"Are you serious? Don't you think I can take care of myself?" I yelled at him, letting the tears flow down my cheeks. Cloud glared back into my eyes.

"You wouldn't understand, Aram. So stop trying." He was speaking calmly now. But I wasn't anywhere near being calm. My hands shook next to me. I clenched them into fists, and closed my eyes.

"I just care, dammit! I didn't know what the hell happened to you when you disappeared! I was worried that something horrible happened." I yelled again. My hair flew in my face again, hiding the tears that were falling even faster now.

Silence stood between us after that. I was biting my lip, trying to stop myself from crying. "I don't need anyone to worry about me." He retorted back at me. He turned away from me again, and walked back over to his bike.

I froze, and listened to his footsteps. I looked up at him, watching him as he walked further and further away from me. I noticed now that we were pretty close to the bar, to my relief. But still, I could feel a tugging feeling in my chest as I watched him.

"You're leaving me again, aren't you?" I asked him, but I already knew the answer. But I never got one. All I got was the sound of the bike roaring, and then he was gone.

I slowly fell down into a sitting position. I wrapped my arms around my legs, and began to cry. My whole body shook with every sob. Why did I have to care so much about people? Why did they have to end up leaving me in the end?

I don't know how long I was there for before I heard footsteps come towards me. "Aram?" I heard someone yell, their footsteps coming at me faster. I felt them touch my arm, and gasp.

"You're hurt, yo! Damn, I better get you back to Tifa." The person spoke, although I already knew who's voice that was. Reno lifted me up in my arms, and quickly made his way back to the bar. He asked me several questions, even though I wouldn't respond. Honestly, I didn't remember what he was asking me. But before we made it back to the bar, everything went black.

* * *

Tifa's POV

I was washing some of the dishes that we piled up in the sink. I was really just trying to take my mind off of what was going on right now.

Cloud had disappeared, and now, Aram was gone as well. I knew that the two of them had gone through a lot in their lives, but I didn't think that they would leave just like that.

Especially Aram. Even though she had a lot more troubling memories, she was still strong. Maybe she wasn't as hyper and happy as she had once been, but she was still okay. Unlike Cloud, she didn't let her past bring her down too much.

"Tifa!" I heard Reno yell my name randomly. I rolled my eyes, and just continued washing the plate I had in my hands. "Yes Reno?" I asked.

He ran into the kitchen, and I noticed that he sounded like he was out of breath. "It's Aram." He managed to say. I turned around at the mention of her name, and gasped. The plate slid out of my hands and crashed to the floor.

Aram was motionless in Reno's arms, and there was blood pouring down her arm. I walked past them quickly. "Come on, let's take her to her room." I told him, making my way upstairs. I heard Reno curse, but he followed behind me.

Once we were in her room, and she was on the bed, I quickly began to work on her arm. I pulled out several bandages that I had in the first aid kit, and began to clean her wound up. As I got a closer look, I saw that it was a bullet wound.

"Someone shot her?" I asked myself. Reno had left as soon as he put her in the bed, saying that he had to get back to the President about what has happened.

After I finished cleaning the wound, and wrapping it, I put a clean blanket over her body. I lingered by her bedside for a moment.

"What the hell is going on lately?" I asked her, although she was still passed out. I shook my head, and walked back downstairs. I went into the kitchen, and quickly cleaned up the now broken plate.

"Tifa? Can we go to the church today?" I heard a small voice ask me, I turned around, and smiled at the small girl in front of me.

"Sure we can. Let me just clean this up." I told Marlene, putting a hand on her head. She gave me a big smile, before running out of the kitchen. I thought that maybe if I went to the church, that I would possibly find Cloud.

I'm sure he would be worried when he found out that Aram had been harmed. After I cleaned up the mess, I walked out towards the door to where Marlene waited patiently. I smiled at her.

"Alright, let's go."


	4. Playing Games

**Blah, guys, my laptop hates me! D:**

**In the past, uhhh, few weeks, it has broken twice.**

**Anyways, I'm trying to get this update done before my dad goes to bed so that you have something from me.**

**Again, I'm really sorry! D:**

**OH, by the way, vote on my poll please? And review review review! It'll help make me update faster (once my laptop comes back.)**

**DISCLAIMER : I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters. I do own Aram. :3**

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* * *

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**ARAM'S POV**

It was really dark around me. I don't really know what happened, but I had somehow been consumed by the darkness.

But…how?

Oh, that's right. I remember now.

I had been shot in my arm. While I was fighting with Cloud, I must of lost too much blood. That, and I probably stressed myself out too much.

Wait, Cloud. He's gone again!

I winced at the sudden rush of pain I felt. I slowly opened my right eye, and squinted it slightly. I recognized this room. It was my room at the bar.

I sat up quickly, but I regretted that instantly. I reached up with my other arm, and touched where the wound was. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"That really hurts." I muttered to myself, rubbing my arm. I opened my eyes completely, and looked around at my room. No one was here, it seemed.

I swung my legs over the bed, and pushed myself onto them. Luckily, I wasn't knocked out enough to be super woozy. I walked over to the nearest mirror, and gasped.

I had black marks streaking down my face. "Stupid Cloud." I glared at the reflection, and stepped away.

I slowly made my way to the bathroom. I didn't want Tifa to hear that I was up or anything. Because, well, if she did, she would probably fuss at me for not being in bed still. The girl worried too much, sometimes.

I opened the door to the small room, and walked in. I turned the knob on the sink to get the water to warm up. I looked around the bathroom, trying to find a towel of some sort. I found a light blue one sitting on the towel rack, so I grabbed it.

I let the towel soak up some of the water, and I rubbed my eyes clean. After I was satisfied with my look, I turned the water off, and walked back out.

I sat back down on my bed once I got back in there, and looked down. I couldn't help but think about everything that has been going on lately.

Mostly, I couldn't stop thinking about Cloud. I didn't understand what he meant by he couldn't be here to see me get hurt because of him. How would he cause me pain?

"You were supposed to always be there for me, Cloud. You promised Zack that. So, why did you leave me alone?" I whispered. I pulled my knees back up, and wrapped my arms around them.

I heard something move downstairs. I shot my head up, and stared at my door. "Tifa?" I called out.

No reply. I slowly set my feet back onto the floor, and stood up. "Are you okay?" I called out once again. Maybe she had tripped over something, or she dropped a plate.

Again, I got no reply. I huffed in frustration, and walked to my door. I swung it open, and glared down the hall. "Tifa, you need to stop playing me like this. You know I'm a bit of a spazz." I yelled out.

This time, I didn't wait for a reply. Instead, I walked right down the stairs towards the bar. "And if it's not Tifa, then I swear, I'm going to beat the crap out of whoever you are." I kept yelling. Finally, I reached the bottom of the stairs.

I looked around, and saw that no one was here. I raised an eyebrow at the empty room. "Hellooo?" I walked to the middle of the bar, and looked around.

"Ah, there you are." I jumped at the sudden voice next to my ear. I spun around, my eyes widened with surprise.

Standing in front of me was that silver haired boy. It was the one with the medium length hair.

I stepped away slightly. "Who are you?" I asked him calmly. I tried to not show that I was a tad bit freaked out by this.

He shook his head around, and grinned down at me. "Oh, you're big brother's little girlfriend, no?" He ignored my question.

He took a step towards me, and I took a step back again. We kept doing this until I felt my back hit something cold.

'Dammit.' I thought to myself. The man leaned his hand down, and rested it on my cheek.

"Now, tell me. Where is mother?" He asked smoothly. I smacked his hand away, and shook my head. "How should I know?" I snapped at him.

He gripped my arm tightly, causing me to wince. He eyed my bandages. "It seems that you got hurt by my brother? So, you better tell me, before I cause more pain for you." He teased me. He put more pressure on my arm, which made me wince.

"I told you…" I started, but he just continued to squeeze. I squeezed my eyes, forcing the tears to stay back. "…that I don't know!" I punched him hard in the stomach with my other hand.

The guy skidded back a few feet. He placed a hand on his stomach, and he clenched his teeth. I took this as my moment to escape. I stepped away to the left quickly, and darted for the door.

I felt something slam into my stomach, and I went flying back into the wall. I slowly slid down from the wall, and landed on my knees. I coughed slightly, and blood trailed down slightly from my mouth.

I ran my hand over my lips, removing the trail of blood. I looked up at the guy, and gave him the strongest glare that I could form. He returned it, and lunged at me.

I pushed myself up, and I charged towards him. Right before we collided, I tucked down and rolled underneath his legs. I swung my leg towards his stomach.

He caught my leg before I could hit him, and he pushed me back. I stumbled slightly, but I didn't fall this time.

"Where is mother?" The guy shouted at me again. He began to march towards me again, so I held up my fists.

I didn't know what the hell was going on, but I wasn't going to lose this fight.

He stopped half way towards me, and watched my face. I was shocked, but I didn't let it show on my face. He must have been disappointed, because he sighed and pulled out a phone.

I raised an eyebrow as he dialed something, and held it up to his ear.

"Is mother there?" He demanded. His face twisted in slight anger at whatever response he got. "You're not crying, are you?" He semi yelled into the phone.

I shivered slightly when his eyes wandered back over to me. He looked me up and down, and a smirk formed on his face.

"Just get out of there. I think I have an idea on how we're going to find mother." He shut his phone after his statement. He sighed, and began to pace around me.

He leaned over to me, and gave me a smile. "You don't know where mother is, and I believe you." He told me. I would've sighed with relief if it wasn't for that smirk on his face.

Before I could even blink, I felt something hard collide with my head. "Dammit." I cursed, feeling myself fall forward.

* * *

**THIRD PERSON**

Kadaj watched as the girl crumbled to the ground. "Too easy." He told himself. He walked over to where the counter was, and searched through all of the items up there.

All he could find was some crumpled up receipt, and a pen. "It'll do." He began to scribble down a few words. After he was satisfied with what the note said, he left it up on the counter.

"Let us see how much big brother cares about you, hm?" He told the unconscious girl. He made his way over to her, and easily threw her over his shoulder.

He walked out of the bar, and settled himself on the motorcycle. He started the machine, and settled Aram in front of it.

"If big brother wants to play games, then I shall join him." He tightened his grip on Aram, and took off before anyone noticed what he was doing.


End file.
